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Houston's poor endure squalor for affordable shelter

When nothing flowed from the taps, tenants at the Inwood Oaks Apartments in northwest Houston dipped water to drink from the swimming pool. Sharan Adams refused.

"I didn't boil it. I didn't bathe in it. I didn't drink it," she said, recalling the final weeks before city officials closed the complex last December, after more than 70 citations to its management.

"I used it to flush the toilet."

Recent reports of poor conditions in apartments owned by state Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston, have drawn new attention to an old problem in Houston — where the U.S. Census Bureau says 55 percent of households rent.

The poor provide a ready market of tenants who endure mold, leaky roofs, loose balcony rails and other problems in exchange for shelter that often costs as little as $300 a month.

A Houston Chronicle analysis of city records shows that inspectors issued at least 2,300 citations to owners of about 300 Houston apartment buildings the past two years, alleging violations of health, building, fire or electrical codes — or for neighborhood "nuisances." Most apartment owners contacted for this story would not discuss the issue.

Adams, who moved here from New Orleans, now lives with her two young sons at the nearby Oak Brook Apartments, where conditions are not much better. Gang graffiti cover walls, trash piles up on the grounds and the algae-covered swimming pool glows emerald green — all conditions that are unlawful.

It is a familiar picture to thousands of Houstonians who continue to live in substandard apartments, despite what Mayor Bill White says is an increasingly aggressive effort to enforce city codes at roughly 2,500 complexes.

The citations are criminal complaints, heard in Municipal Court, that often follow one or more notices instructing owners to correct problems. One quarter of the citations the Chronicle reviewed alleged that owners failed to maintain structural standards requiring, for example, that stairways be safe and that floors and walls safely bear weight.

First complex closed
Nearly one in six citations alleged that the property met the legal definition of "dangerous," and at least 13 properties did not have valid certificates of occupancy, required for all multifamily dwellings.

In April 2007, for the first time, city officials forced the closure of an apartment complex by revoking its occupancy certificate. Inspectors had cited the Carter's Grove Apartments, 3405 North Shepherd, more than 190 times. Two months earlier, two children were hospitalized with burn marks after being shocked by an unsecured electrical transformer there.

Since then, the city has taken the same action against five other properties, condemning more than 700 units: an apartment complex, two condominium properties, a residential hotel and a boarding house. City officials said they helped tenants find new homes.

The actions reflect what officials say is a more aggressive approach to code enforcement, which White has called too relaxed in the past. But the city must balance the need to protect tenants against the disruption of closing a development, said Andy Icken, a deputy public works director.

"We're not going to use this nuclear option unless we're absolutely sure that there's no other remedy," Icken said.

The city's code enforcement division generally inspects multifamily buildings at the time of construction, when they are sold, or when repairs or renovations require permits.

The city also sends inspectors in response to complaints, but does not routinely inspect buildings to ensure they are properly maintained.

Code inspectors have been working more proactively in the seven neighborhoods included in White's "Project Houston Hope" program, which aims to replace blighted lots with affordable housing. If the effort is successful, Icken said, he may ask for more resources to expand the program.

The city assigns 10 fire inspectors to review apartment, condominium and town house properties every five years. They search, for example, for damaged attic fire barriers that investigators believe have allowed recent apartment fires to spread. But they can fall short of that goal because of low staffing levels, said Mike Thomas, who oversees multifamily inspections for the fire department.

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